Pity the poor implement tire, little guy and unsung hero of the farm field. Tractor tires get all the glory with their giant lugs, flexing sides and imposing heights. But implement tires are the ones in the trenches. No bigger than truck tires, they carry the planters and the tillage tools, which are the reasons those fancy tractor tires are in the field in the first place.

TACKY TIRES

Until recently, implement tires have been treated as commodities: Make them good but make them as cheaply as possible because farmers aren't going to pay much for them. That meant using ...